Hermione found Ron doing his Potions homework at a table in the corner. He looked very frustrated.  Hermione made her way over to him. She touched him on the shoulder, and waited for him too look up. He did.

"Ron? I found out what I think I should be," Ron smiled. "I think I'm going to be a teacher here." Ron's face fell slightly. "Really? That means you'll live here during the year…" Hermione looked like that had just hit her. "Of course! I can't apparate here. I hadn't thought of that..." Ron thought quickly. "Does floo powder work here?"

"If it doesn't, I bet I could get special permission." Ron smiled. "Great. I was thinking we could all live in Hogsmeade. You know, when we get out of school."  "That will be fun. All three of us together." Ron nodded. Hermione sat down opposite him at the small table.  He put away his Potions book, and smiled at her.

"It'll be nice, you know? Although I will miss the castle…"

"Well…I'll be working when you are. No real problems. My parents have already said yes. It's cheaper for me to live here, anyway, than back in the muggle world." Ron frowned slightly. "Mum and Dad say it should be alright. I'll try to pay them back for at least half each month. At least it's just Ginny now, but she spends the weekends in Hogsmeade working in Fred and George's joke shop. We're all doing a lot better."

Hermione smiled. //Draco is so full of shit// she thought to herself.

"So, what were you talking to Harry about anyway?"

"Um…Just making sure he's okay. He's brooding lately."

"Yeah, he usually snaps out of it after an hour or two." 

"It's so weird, about Cho."

"Yeah. I don't know what to do about it. I think he might be going to talk to Dumbledore." Hermione nodded.

"That's good. Dumbledore will know what to tell him."

Ron nodded. Hermione sighed, and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm going to bed, Ron. I'm so tired."

"Bed? It's only 8:30!"

"I know. I had a long day."

Ron nodded, and watched her climb the stairs to the girls' dormitory. He could tell that there was something more wrong, but he wasn't sure whether it was just exhaustion, or something else. Maybe Harry would know. At 9, Harry came over, looking like he had a new fire driving him. They helped each other through the torturous work of poring over their books, trying to find the usefulness of Aging Potions. It was hard to find a good reason for older wizards, but eventually they found some information and their essays were done.

"Well," said Harry at last "I'm finished. I hate these essays." Ron nodded.

"Me too. I'm done now, too. Bugger the last half inch, I just wrote really big."

Harry grinned, and so did Ron. Ron flicked his eyes over Harry as he screwed on the lid of his ink bottle.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"You spent a lot of time staring at the fire tonight." Harry nodded.

"I had to think about some things."

"What did Hermione want?"

"She came to see if I was okay." Harry hoped that answer matched Hermione's. Ron nodded.

"We're getting worried about you."

"The nightmares are less frequent now. It's much better than it was." Ron smiled.

"That's good to hear." Harry nodded, and they both headed up to bed.

            Harry climbed into bed, thinking furiously about Draco, long after Ron's soft breathing filled the room.  He hoped Hermione had made the parchment so they could keep in contact. He was angry at Draco, for threatening her. Some days, he just wanted to curse Draco, so that he never bothered them again. In the end he knew he couldn't sink to Draco's level. But if he laid a finger on Hermione again, he would at least end up with two black eyes.  Harry drifted off to sleep uncomfortably. Once Hermione gave him that parchment, he would feel much better.